PhD Research into Wildlife Hazard Event Reporting Improvements
PhD Research Project Information & Updates
So, I’ve started a journey that is long, stressful and often misunderstood. I thought that doing a PhD would be a great way to distinguish myself as an expert and to make an impactful contribution to aviation safety. However, what I have learnt so far is that it is just the beginning.
The Elevator Pitch
Wildlife hazard management people often argue about what wildlife-related events should be reported either as a wildlife strike or other type of incident. Differences in what is classed as a strike can impact on our analysis of wildlife strikes and other event data. This makes it hard to quantify the risk of wildlife to aviation and to benchmark performance between airports and/or jurisdictions.
While industry efforts to reach a consensus on these reporting nuances have stalled, this project will apply the Delphi method to the problem. This method uses an anonymous panel of experts subject to a repetitive survey to reach a consensus. This technique has a robust history in this type of research. The resulting framework will be tested against the capabilities of Australia aerodrome operators to assess its overall validity.
More Information
in 2021, I presented my research project at the AAWHG 2021 Webinar series. Here is the video of my presentation.
PhD Updates
Other Related Blog Articles
The following articles are related to my PhD topic but not directly completed within my research project.
I have just spent a week in Washington DC working with an amazing team on a revision of the ICAO Birdstrike Information System (IBIS) manual. This document outlines how States (countries) should send wildlife strike data to ICAO but at thirty years old, you can appreciate how out of date its guidance is.
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